Gannon ousts Vulcans from NCAA D-II tourney
Jon Sape
The men’s basketball teams at PennWest California and Gannon have played quite a series this season. Four times the Vulcans and Golden Knights have met, with each team winning a pair of games.
College basketball, however, is not decided by a series. That’s why Gannon is still playing today and California’s season has come to an abrupt end.
Pace Prosser scored 30 points and Gannon rode a strong first 25 minutes to an 89-73 victory in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional semifinals Sunday night at AHN Events Center in Erie.
Laurel Highlands graduate Keondre DeShields came off the bench to lead Cal in scoring, tossing in 18 points. Brayden Reynolds had 15 points and five assists.
Gannon (30-3), the top seed in the regional, will play sixth-seeded and PSAC rival Indiana for the regional title Tuesday night. IUP defeated Virginia Union 66-62 in overtime in the other semifinal.
California ends the season with a 23-9 record and a PSAC tournament championship that was secured with a win over Gannon one week earlier on the same court as the regional semifinal.
This time, Cal fell behind 42-35 at halftime, trailed by double figures early in the second half and never got closer than nine points over the final 12:57.
“Disappointed,” California head coach Danny Sancomb said. “Gannon is a great team and we have a lot of respect for them. They play hard.”
That was apparent on the offensive glass. Though Gannon missed 40 shots (37 for 77), the Golden Knights grabbed 19 offensive rebounds. Gannon outrebounded Cal, 42-31.
Gannon’s defense forced 19 California turnovers. The Golden Knights shot 55 percent in the second half.
“In the first half, though we were down seven, I thought our defense was solid,” Sancomb said. “In the second half, we became a little undisciplined on defense. And the offensive glass and turnovers were our Achilles’ heels today.”
Precious Idiaru scored 12 points and for Gannon and Lucas Morgan had 11.
Cal’s Bryson Lucas, who scored 33 points in a first-round win over Fayetteville State, was held to 11. Jordan Buchanan, who went 6-for-9 from three-point range against the Broncos, was limited to 12 points by Gannon and was 1-for-5 from behind the stripe.